Sir Didymus: The Early Years
by Lit'l Raevyn
Summary: My 1st Labyrinth fic. Sir Didymus is training to be a noble warrior. There's some stuff "stolen" from the movie, but i think you will enjoy how it's played in. Please review!
1. Watchman's Sight

Chapter One Watchman was tired. His shift was supposed to end an hour ago and his replacement have come into the tower, allowing him to get out of that veritable meat cooker and into some cold water. Maybe a bath, he thought. With bubbles! However, there was only one problem; Watchman was the only one who signed up for this post. Ever. The huge brick-and-metal tower was built with the idea in mind to be a guard tower, but no one ever took the job. Until Watchman came along. He sighed heavily, thinking back to how stupid he was.  
"Why did I come out here in the first place?" He asked his spear. "It's in the middle of the blooming' desert! Oh sure the pay's good and three squares a day, but I spend every hour -waking or sleeping- in this godforsaken obelisk!" In his anger, Watchman hefted his spear and threw it out and over the edge of the tower.  
"Gerbin fartch!" He growled. "Why'd I do that?" Watchman sighed and started to walk down the tower steps, but something caught the side of his eye. He turned, and spied something riding over a dune, backlit by the sinking sun. For the first time in seven years, Watchman bounded down the tower steps. All 32 flights of them.  
*********  
  
The figure Watchman saw was a small one, but it was a figure nonetheless. He couldn't tell what it was at first, but the figure was actually two; a doglike creature riding another four legged dog. The first rode straight and high, seemingly undaunted by the heat of the desert and the roughness of traveling on sand. His companion (rather, his vehicle) however was just the opposite. Head hung low, panting, and paws constantly slipping over the dune. Watchman burst out of the tower and, stumbling, snatched his spear from the ground and ran towards the figures with all the speed he had. With each time his feet hit the ground, his chest swelled with pride and anticipation, knowing that for the first time in seven years he would be able to do his job. Seeing Watchman running toward him, the rider of the dog reined his steed and stopped, posing a rather heroic stance against the sunset. "Halt." Watchman declared, having reached the traveler. "We have," replied the traveler. "State your name and business," Watchman declared, just like he was taught in the Grand College of Watching and Guarding. "Please." The traveler eyed Watchman and his spear for a moment. Then, hopping brusquely off his steed (which all but collapsed dead when he did) he declared, "I am Didymus, son of Gallantus, grandson of Mykus, nephew to Ephsus, brother to Jerymus!" Didymus flicked his head to the right and up a bit, his long whiskers all but catching Watchman in the face. "And I have come to be trained at the Greatly Rumoured School of Knightship and Heroism!" Watchman was taken aback. He was in awe of this.Didymus. He sported clothes made of fine satin and leather, beautifully crafted in Renaissance style. His gloved forepaws rested on the hilt of a deep red polished Lancesword, snugly sheathed at his side. He had a neatly clipped whiskerstache just above his debonairly smiling lips, which revealed a row of straight and white teeth, complete with canines. There was a glint in Didymus' eye that betrayed some mischief brewing in him. But the thing that Watchman noticed most was the long feather that hung from Didymus' hat. It was almost as long as its bearer was tall, coming to a weakly curved peak a few inches away from Didymus' head. The feather was brown and faintly green. There were a few other colors but Watchman couldn't pick them out, as it was very tattered and worn; in places parts of the vane were missing completely. Though in awe, Watchman tried not to smile at the outlandish sight before him. But a faint smirk pushed its way through. "Well then," Watchman said. "You've come to the right place." "Good!" Didymus said, smiling. "Does yon tower cap the school?" Watchman chuckled. "Naw, I'll show you where it is though. This way." Watchman turned toward his tower. "Come along, Ambrosius!" Didymus called to his steed. "You've had yourn rest but now we must continue our quest!" The dog whined, but with a stern glance from his master, feebly galloped after them.  
*********  
  
After a bit of walking, the tower loomed beside the trio.  
"C'mon in," said Watchman with a wave of his hand. "It'll be a bit before we reach the school so let's have a rest up and some refreshments." Ambrosius yipped, overjoyed to be getting in out of the desert sun. However, when they got inside and he saw the huge staircase, he almost fainted again.  
Watchman and his companions climbed the stairs. And climbed. And climbed. And climbed just a little bit more. Didymus kept seeing wooden doors accompanied with gold-plated signs with ornate numbers on them pass by.  
10th.11th.12th.13th.  
"Umm." Didymus cleared his throat. "Excuse me, sah, but when we were introduced only I gave my name.what is yours?"  
"Oh, you can just call me Watchman."  
14th.15th.16th.  
Didymus could see Ambrosius getting tired again. "Umm.Watchman?"  
"Yes?"  
"How many more flights of stairs shall we be traversing?"  
"Oh," 17th. "About six more."  
"Ah, six."  
18th.19th.20th.  
Didymus cleared his throat again. "How tall is thine tower, Sir Watchman?"  
"Well, its got about thirty-three floors."  
"Great Scot! How dost thou manage?"  
"Oh, I've been here awhile. It's good exercise."  
They ascended for a few more flights, and even Didymus began to break a sweat. Just when he thought he might faint and tumble down all of the stairs, Watchman stopped abruptly.  
"Here we are!" He said, turning onto a landing. "Floor 23, the Rest and Relaxation room, as I calls it; the Mess Hall as others does." The three sauntered into the room, Didymus and Ambrosius looking desperately for a chair. Watchman motioned that they sit wherever they liked.  
Didymus picked the chair that he first fell into. Pulling himself upright, he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. There was something strange about the room, but he couldn't quite place his paw on it. Didymus looked around the room quizzically. He saw Ambrosius sitting about six feet away under a table and Watchman about twenty feet away at a large barrel getting some drinks. He continued his scope when it hit him. He was sitting about ten feet away from the door, when the chair was only about two feet away when he walked in. And how could the room be thirty feet across when the tower was no more than ten? And what about all the other rooms?  
"What in the devil is going on?" Didymus suddenly jumped up, knocking his chair over and drawing his Lancesword at the same time. He stood battle ready, as if the room itself would start attacking.  
"What do you mean?" Didymus whirled around to meet the voice behind him. It was Watchman! How did he get there so fast from so long away? And there was Ambrosius, suddenly behind him! But behind Didymus was where Didymus was just facing, and How did I get on top of a table?  
Didymus began to feel dizzy. It seemed like the room was coming apart, brick by brick.  
The tower was collapsing!  
He was falling!  
Falling!  
Sitting!  
What? Didymus was sitting upright in a chair, Ambrosius at his feet, whining. Watchman stood over him, with a concerned look on his face.  
"Are uh.you all right, Didymus?" Watchman spoke slowly. Didymus patted his own chest, trying to make sure all of him was there.  
"I.think I.am I? What happened?" He began to get excited again, and tried to stand up, fingering his weapon. But his balance faltered, and Watchman laid a hand on Didymus' shoulder in an attempt to steady him. Ambrosius let out a low growl. Watchman let go. Didymus swallowed the huge lump in his throat and tried to speak again.  
"The room." he began. "It.was breaking.swirling.the table.Ambrosius!" He finished with a great deal of effort and fell back into his chair, mentally exhausted. If I should try to stand again, he thought. I shall dirty this floor!  
Watchman pulled up a chair behind him and sat down. "Don't worry about it. Your in just a little bit of shock."  
"From what, may I be so bold?"  
"Jump magic."  
"Jump magic?" Didymus asked.  
"Jump magic." Watchman nodded his head.  
"Jump magic." Didymus repeated. "Well.what is it?" Watchman leaned upwards and rested his back against the chair, giving Didymus some room.  
"When they built this tower, " he started. "They originally wanted it to be some sort of barracks for people to protect the school. Sort of a student army. But they realized they didn't have enough space for all the rooms they wanted to put in. So they tried redesigning it, brought in all the best architects from all around! But nothing would work. Just not a whole lot of supplies in the desert.  
"Then one day when all the head honcho administrators of the school; the Dean, the president, the vice-president and all their kick-around guys, were fussing and arguing about how they were gonna fix the bloody problem, some lone wanderer comes around. At first they were frightened of him; they say he had the wildest eyes you'll ever see. Hard and demanding, like a slave driver, while at the same time being as soft and inviting as a lamb's cut fleece. Well, he said he could fix the problem. He said he had invented a new kind of magic for just the thing. Well, them administrators didn't want to have nothing to do with magic! 'A perversion of the natural way!' the Dean said. But somehow the stranger convinced them. Some say his eyes can hypnotize people.  
"So, anyway, they built the tower out of what they had. Regular size, real small rooms. And then they had him look it over. He walked around inside and he said he could do it if they doubled the price of what they were gonna pay him. Only he said he didn't want money. He wanted them.  
"The stranger boasted that that soon a new kingdom would rise, a kingdom that would be perfectly awesome, ruled by magic and mystery, and that he, this poor little wanderer, would reign over all the lands. And then he said that he wanted them to be his servants, to worship him and then he would be kind to them in return. Well, as you can imagine, the fools just scoffed and laughed it off, 'cuz what could he do? But they decided to humor him, 'cuz the Dean wanted to make a joke outta this fellow.  
"So the stranger smiled this eerily enchanting grin, and suddenly a crystal, perfectly round, appeared in his hand. He threw it at the tower and it shattered into a million tiny pieces. The sound was horrible! It almost blew all of the administrators' ears out! When the ringing had gone, the stranger smiled again and told them that it was done. At first, they didn't believe him, but when they walked into a few of the rooms; they saw that they were larger than the tower itself! Well, they all went back down and found the stranger standing their looking all happy, so the Dean said 'Watch this, men' and handed this bulging money sack to the stranger. 'Here's your homage O Lord!' the Dean said and mockingly knelt in front of the stranger. All of his lackeys burst into laughter. The stranger's smile dropped, and he threw it back at the Dean. 'We had a different deal,' he said. The prez and the VP were really rolling now.  
"' Right!' the Dean laughed. 'Us upstanding members of society be your servants in this new world order to come?' Everyone's side just split. Except the stranger's.  
"Suddenly the he began to grow, and started shaking the whole desert! The tower looked like it might fall! He grew until he was this colossus, this wondrous sorcerer dressed in glorious flowing black. The Dean and his lackeys were all scared spiteless. They couldn't get their eyes off his. They were red and white at the same time, burning the very essence of fear into those poor souls. Again suddenly, he had a crystal in his hand. He threw it at the administrators, and when it smashed, they began to morph.  
"They lost their normal shapes and began to twist and mold into these grotesque, slimy, green, rude things. They didn't even look like they had once been something that was alive! They started roaring and burbling and gargling, and fell on their knees and started to worship that magicmancer, 'cuz they were his slaves now. Then all in one instant, all of them, the Dean, his cohorts, and the stranger, were gone."  
Watchman leaned back in his chair again, and watched Didymus' jaw hang open. "Good story, eh Didymus?"  
The dog-creature closed his mouth. "Yes but.what shall I do if the rooms be charmed?"  
Watchman smiled. "Just don't think about it. If you notice something was moved or changed around, don't think about it and the charm won't get you. And don't try to walk anywhere either. Just think about where you want to go and suddenly you're there."  
Didymus thought for a moment. "Jump magic?"  
"Jump magic."  
"Ah." 


	2. Didymus' Fight

Chapter Two Didymus turned in his bed. He didn't exactly feel very comfortable sleeping in a room that had a spell put on it, especially one by the same person who turned other people into goblin things. And since those people used to be the head of the school he was now going to attend, that made him cross towards this. sorcerer, magician, wizard, what ever he was. Didymus didn't like him. He had wished they could have gone to the school after the whole ordeal in Floor 23. But by the time Didymus had got in sight of the Watchtower, the sun had already started to go to sleep. Add in the time it took getting to the tower, climbing up all the stairs, listening to Watchman's story, and then going down a few more stairs to get to the bunks, nighttime was well underway. Didymus sighed and sat up in the bed. He couldn't sleep. Usually, Ambrosius would snore when they slept. "That must be it!" Didymus whispered. He was so used to Ambrosius' snoring, that it acted like a lullaby! Didymus leaned under the top bunk he was on and prodded Ambrosius' snout. The sleeping steed started to snore. Didymus lay back down, snuggling into the covers happily. He still couldn't sleep. He had to go to the bathroom. Didymus sat up once more, and looked around the room for Watchman. "Gracious," he said to himself. "This room seems to have gotten bigger since I went down!" Then it shrank, the bunks pulling closer together. Didymus began to feel queasy again, and stopped thinking about the size of the room. Now, he thought, Bathroom.. where did Sir Watchman say that it was? Suddenly it came to him. Floor 6. And he was on 16! They really must think about renovations. Didymus thought as he slowly climbed off his bunk, so as not to wake Ambrosius.  
The Hero-To-Be started walking to the door, but as he did it began to get farther and farther away. Didymus tried to run, and he banged into the wall perpendicular to his bed. He was facing the totally opposite direction! Didymus turned around, growling. He squared his feet, and locked his eyes on the door. In his vision the door shook slightly, like it was laughing at him.  
"I can conquer this tiny obstacle!" Didymus nearly shouted, more to himself than anybody. "All I must do is outsmart this confounded door!"  
Didymus leaped!  
So did the door!  
Dog and door slammed into each other, the wooden warrior knocking Didymus to the ground. When Didymus looked up, the door, still connected to the wall, was spinning around him. The knob slightly passed his ear.  
The door picked up speed.  
It spun fast.  
Faster!  
Faster!  
WINDOW! WINDOW! ANY WINDOW IN THIS TOWER! Didymus thought with all his might. Suddenly he saw the night sky and ran toward the opening, thrusting his head out side, letting his stomach do the rest. He didn't wait to see it fall, but came back inside and slumped against the wall.  
He was outside the bunkroom on the landing or Floor 16. Didymus shot an exhausted, yet triumphantly prideful sneer at the door.  
"I.told.thou I would.reign victorious!" He weakly raised a fisted paw and shook it at the door, then tried to remember where he was going before the room decided to play tricks on him. Ah, yes, the bathroom.  
*********  
Didymus emerged, feeling refreshed.  
"Now, I do wonder why Sir Watchman warned me about going out at night?" Didymus cautiously looked up the stairs behind him, then darted down six flights.  
*********  
  
The sand of the desert looked purple, a darker shade than the almost black sky. A few stars shined, casting a bluish light on the expanse of the night dome. It was cool, refreshment from the scathing sun of midday. There were no sounds, but a slight breeze blew sporadically. It was peaceful.  
And Didymus liked it.  
"See?" He again said to no one. "Watchman dost not know of what he speaks." Didymus closed his eyes and breathed, filling his nostrils with the smells of the night desert.  
Didymus liked it.  
But someone didn't.  
"What are you doing?" that someone yelled. Didymus turned to see Watchman, still carrying his spear and sporting his helmet, yet in his pajamas, bolting down the stairs. "I told you not to go out at night!"  
"But, Sir!" Didymus protested. "The night is so sweet and fragrant with many smells that hath not yet graced my snout!"  
"The night is also full of spiders."  
Didymus laughed. "Spiders? Of what speakest thou? Thou believes a tiny arachnid can defeat Didymus, son of Gallantus, grandson of Mykus, nephew to." Watchman cut him short. "Not tiny spiders, but huge ones."  
Didymus' ears pricked. "What?"  
Watchman took a step closer. "The desert's full of 'em. At night, only. They're ten feet tall, with the head and arms of a crazed woman, and with claws as long as you are tall. They stalk the night, looking for little buggers like you who can't listen to those who know better!"  
By now, Watchman was leaning over a cowering Didymus. The son of Gallantus slowly stood up, cleared his throat, and straightened his whiskers.  
"Well," he said. "I have had enough of the night smells. Come, let us return to our beds, and conquer the demon called Sleeplessness." Didymus held his head up high as he marched back to Floor 16.  
Watchman smiled as he shook his head. He closed the tower door behind him. 


	3. Ambrosius' Plight

Chapter Three Ambrosius came running. He had just heard Didymus ring the dinner bell and didn't want to miss any of that yummy food, so he worked his legs as fast as they could go. He could just taste it, all that yummy beef, yummy steak, yummy carrots, yummy au gratin potatoes, yummy salad, yummy cream puffs, yummy, yummy, yummy!  
He rounded the hedges that bordered the Mykus Villa where he and Didymus lived. What he saw gave him an extra bout of speed. Didymus was standing on the veranda, ringing the dinner bell, and he had in his very forepaws, the largest, and most luscious looking chewing bone Ambrosius had ever seen! He could even hear his master calling him.  
"Ambrosius." Didymus continued to ring the bell.  
Suddenly Ambrosius couldn't run any more!  
He legs were moving, but he wasn't going anywhere.  
He was hock deep in.molasses!  
Oh yummy! Ambrosius thought. He began licking all the wonderfully sticky and sweet liquid that surrounded him. Ambrosius really liked molasses. Moreover, this molasses was especially delightful, because someone had stirred in lots and lots of coconut shavings. Yummy!  
But Didymus kept ringing that bell.  
"Ambrosius!"  
Lick.lick.yummy.lick.  
"Ambrosius would you stop licking my foot!"  
Ambrosius woke up and pouted. Too bad that he was only dreaming.  
Didymus glared at him. "Watchman hath been ringing yon bell for over two minutes! And thou still didst not wake! So wake!"  
The noble steed shook himself, then followed the already cleaned and clothed Didymus down to the mess hall.  
*********  
  
After a hearty, yet rushed, breakfast, Watchman, Didymus and Ambrosius began their trek to the Greatly Rumoured School of Knightship and Heroism. It was only around nine o'clock, yet the sun was rising swiftly. There was a definite and sudden rise in temperature as the trio stepped out of the tower.  
"Looks like it's gonna be a scorcher." Watchman said. "I'm glad Ambrosius can carry all that water." Didymus looked down at his steed and smiled proudly. Ambrosius had about four two-gallon sized waterskins slung over his saddle. He was bearing them easily, strutting proudly over the sand. Didymus too set his jaw straightly and rode gallantly high.  
As they began to stride away, Didymus realized something. If Watchman's job was to be a watchman and guard the tower, he, Didymus, was keeping Watchman from completing his task! And everyone knows that hindrance was no quality any hero wants to have. Unless you are hindering a task of evil, of course.  
"Sir Watchman," Didymus addressed him. "Who shall be watching thine tower whilst we make trek?" Watchman picked up the worried undertone in the rider's voice and smiled knowingly.  
"Aw, you don't have to worry about that!" Watchman shrugged. "You're the first one to come along in seven years. The tower can stand a few days on it's own."  
*********  
  
Somewhere deep beneath the desert sand, within a vaulted darkness, a pair of pale orange eyes was suddenly awakened. They blinked twice, and then squinted, as if listening. The eyes just stayed awhile, listening.  
They found their disturbance.  
A thin voice forced itself upon the dark, a voice that had not been heard for more than three decades.  
"Something moves." the voice said. "Something comes!" The voice changed into a low, Machiavellian laugh. The pair of glowing orbs closed.  
And the body they belonged to moved.  
*********  
  
The journey was long. And as it got longer, it began to get hard. And as it got harder, all three began to tire. They had been traveling for four hours straight, yet the sun remained just on top of them. It seemed to follow them, parallel to their direction, as if it had a will to stop them from going to the school. Though they had plenty of water, it seemed like they could never get enough. Every few paces Watchman would have everyone stop to take more water. His armor had, for the first time in seven years, began to get very heavy. But he knew Ambrosius could carry no more than he already was. Watchman lay back on the sand and let out an exasperated sigh.  
So did Didymus and his steed. "As a point of fact," Didymus said to Watchman. "I almost wish this whole desert to be cursed with the Jump Magic!"  
Watchman laughed. "That would make it a bit easier, wouldn't it?" Ambrosius began to whine and crawled over to where Didymus lay. He wedged his snout under Didymus' forepaw, begging him to pet. His master made a weak effort, and his hand drooped as he fell into a nap. Ambrosius tried for Watchman, but he too was snoring. Unable to sleep in such an uncomfortable heat, the noble steed slumped in a heap.  
Suddenly a warm breeze blew; Ambrosius' canine instincts made him perk up his ears and raise his head to sniff the wind. He caught a whiff of something, something fresh and cool, something not desert-like. He sniffed again, catching the direction from which it came. He also smelled fruits, and water, and grass!  
Energized and quite jovial, Ambrosius jumped up and literally followed his nose. Every step he took the smell got stronger. His tongue fell out of his mouth in anticipation for the plump, ripe, tasty fruit he smelled.  
Ambrosius' nose, in perfect conjunction with his feet, led him over two dunes and down a valley. Upon going up the third, something large and very green loomed over Ambrosius. The dog shook with joy. Only a tail length away was the most beautiful desert oasis that Ambrosius had ever seen. This being his first time in a desert however, there wasn't much comparison.  
Everything was green!  
And purple!  
And yellow!  
And all types of bright and pretty colors!  
But since Ambrosius was colorblind, it all kind of blended together. The thing that really got him going, however, was the smell. He could smell the wetness, the moisture, and the juiciness of all this tasty vegetation! Being a dog, Ambrosius usually preferred meat to anything. But this! This called to him -called to every sense he owned- in a way that no heap of victuals ever had before. With a barely contained puppy-like yelp, and stomach growling to the sky, the noble steed soared into the oasis.  
This was so much better than the dream he had had a few hours before. Ambrosius romped through the absolute myriad of fruits he had never tasted before. He barely stopped moving! Every time the dog bit into a fruit, he caught a whiff of an even sweeter one behind him. His tediously groomed and monotonously shampooed fur quickly became gloriously sticky and blissfully stained from all the juice. Ambrosius ate and ate and ate and devoured and demolished every single fruit he could smell! The dog was ecstatic.  
After not long at all -though it seemed forever to him- Ambrosius could eat no more. He tried, but was too content with what sat in his stomach to move between any more trees or bushes. The noble steed collapsed in the luscious grass underneath his feet. He let out a pleased doggie sigh, and watched a feathered seed rise and sink on his breath.  
FWOMP!  
Ambrosius hadn't fell very far. Only a couple feet down, but it still caught him by surprise. All feelings of comfort vanished, and those of fear kicked in. He was in a hole, a hole that opened up right underneath where he was laying only a moment before. He could see the mouth, and the glorious sunlight that didn't seem to pierce the dark of the hole. Ambrosius tried to leap for the hole, but he was so bloated he fell flat on his stomach. Almost as quickly as it had opened, the hole closed over, leaving the noble steed totally surrounded by deep, scary, darkness. Ambrosius then did something that he had not done since he was a puppy.  
He wet himself.  
*********  
  
Plinkkkkk-kuuuh!  
Plinkkkkk-kuuuh!  
Plinkkkkk-kuuuh!  
Watchman stirred. The small raindrops hit his helmet and echoed, serving as his alarm. He shot up, not bothering to shake himself. The sky was dark purple and no stars could be seen. He whirled around to wake Didymus, but the hero was already up. He was standing squarely a few feet away, hands thrown aside, head darting from left to right.  
"Ambrosius!" he said to Watchman. "He's gone!"  
Watchman's heart beet quickened. Not only were they in a practically endless desert missing a member of their party, but on top of everything, it was night. The spiders came out at night! And these spiders loved the rain. You couldn't see them in rain. Shadows didn't appear in rain. Until the lightning flashed, but by then it was too late.  
The dark dots on the sand began to multiply at an alarming rate.  
"Didymus! Grab I'll grab the gear!" He yelled, grabbing both his and Didymus' pack. "Are you any good at tracking?" Despite the dreary circumstances, Didymus laughed.  
"Be it raining like the forty-day flood?" The small hero immediately set his nose to the ground, sniffing within an inch over every piece of sand. He circled and weaved and then circled some more, just like his pappy had taught him to do in such a situation. He was getting frustrated, however; the rain was washing away all the scent. It was hard to get a bearing. But then.  
Didymus shot over the dune. "Follow hither, and quickly!" He yelled back. Watchman bounded for all he was worth. Didymus kept going, bent over double, snout just hovering over the dunes. When Didymus caught a scent, he never lost it. He could practically see Ambrosius, his noble and trusty steed, running over the same dune. Didymus exploded over the peak of the third hill and stopped. Watchman was not far behind.  
BOOM-CRRACKKKK!  
Lightning flashed for only a moment, illuminating the oasis before which the duo stood. Didymus now had a crude picture in his mind of where he was going. Plus, he could smell all the sweetly rotting fruit. He turned to Watchman. "He is here.or was, at least." Watchman followed Didymus into the oasis. The rain was lessened there, though not completely stopped. They walked, cautiously, closer to the center of the desert sanctuary. Another streak of lightning fell. Didymus stopped Watchman from walking and pointed to something lying on the ground.  
"It be my steed's saddle and pack!" he said, bending to pick it up.  
"Well, now we know for sure that he was here." Watchman sat down. "But from what I saw, this oasis is too big to search through all of it tonight. And that rain ain't gonna help much."  
Didymus whirled on him. "But the spiders! And my Ambrosius!"  
"Easy, easy!" Watchman said. "From what I know (and that's pretty much, 'cuz I've lived in the desert for seven years) spiders don't check much in the oasis's. I'm guessin' they prefer to chase a body all through the dunes. So I'm also guessin' Ambrosius is still somewhere in this'n oasis, so he's pretty safe. And so are we." Didymus looked a bit better, so Watchman got up. "Here, help me with this." He said. They both pulled some of the huge leaves down to a peak and lashed them together, forming a lean-to that kept them mostly dry for the rest of the night. Both Watchman and Didymus tried, but neither could sleep. Whether it was the fruit or something else, something stunk horribly. Both man and dog could smell it. And that something didn't seem friendly. 


End file.
